Facebook interfaith contact and social distance toward religious minorities

Abstract

In line with the contact hypothesis, several studies show that digitally mediated interfaith contact on social networking sites also improves relationships between members of different faiths. Yet most theoretical and empirical scholarships are mainly conducted in societies generally free of religiously driven violent incidents, lacking insights from contexts with more serious interfaith challenges. Additionally, factors that predict digitally mediated interfaith contact and condition its effect have not gained enough attention. Relying on survey data of Facebook users in Pakistan (n = 645), this study shows that Muslims’ favorable attitude toward potential Facebook interfaith contact is positively associated with their number of Facebook interfaith contacts, which is, in turn, negatively associated with social distance toward non-Muslim religious minorities. Moreover, status legitimacy plays a moderating role, suggesting that the mediating relationship above is only significant for those who perceive a low level of status legitimacy – a perception that the social status difference between ingroup and outgroups is legitimate. It exhibits the inhibiting role of status legitimacy in hindering the effects of Facebook interfaith contact on social distance. This study discusses the potentially positive role of digitally mediated interfaith contact and concludes with limitations and recommendations.